Holy Cow, TSA PreCheck has gone International

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has announced 11 new airlines are participating in the PreCheck program. What does that mean? It means eleven more chances to skip the security line and breeze through the airport. Many of these new airlines are international, which alleviates concerns that many travelers had. Before, all participating airlines were domestic and this was a huge hurdle that the TSA overcame today.

The TSA PreCheck program was launched a few years ago in response to the popularity of their random selection process. Predating Pre Check, the TSA would select passengers they believed were low risk, usually the elderly and frequent flyers. This program caused some controversy and is slowly being phased out, especially with the popularity of the PreCheck.

The PreCheck program started off slowly with only a few participating airlines and airports, but now 30 airlines and over 150 airports are on board. See what I did there, that’s a plane pun, oh boy.

This is a huge win for the TSA, who since their inception after 9/11, they haven’t had the best reputation. Many frequent flyers were reluctant to join the PreCheck program without international transporters. The new influx of international carriers should boost the program to new heights.

The new airlines are Aruba Airlines, Avianca, Boutique Airlines, Emirates, Key Lime Air, Miami Air International, Southern Airways Express, Spirit Airlines, Sunwing, Virgin Atlantic, and Xtra Airways. I had to double check because I thought someone was playing a trick on me, like some of these airlines sound made up. I mean, Xtra Airlines sounds like a bad celebrity news show and Key Line Airlines sounds like a tasty pie, but oh well, cheap flights are cheap flights.

Here are all the TSA PreCheck Participants

American Airlines

Delta Airlines

United Airlines

Frontier Airlines

Allegiant Airlines

Southwest Airlines

OneJet

JetBlue Airlines

Virgin America

Lufthansa

Etihad Airways

CapeAir

Hawaiian Airlines

Alaska Airlines

Air Canada

Aeromexico

WestJet

Emirates (New)

Virgin Atlantic (New)

Aruba Airlines (New)

Avianca (New)

Key Lime Air (New)

Sunwing Airlines (New)

Xtra Airlines (New)

Southern Airways Express (New)

Spirit Airlines (New)

Miami Air International (New)

Boutique Airlines (New)

Seaborne Airlines

Sun Country Airlines

Overview

TSA PreCheck is a program that allows passengers to avoid the hassle of security lines by being vetted ahead of time. This is extremely valuable in saving time and lessening frustrations. The program only costs $85 and is good for 5 years. Simple signup process, all you need to do is fill out this application. https://www.tsa.gov/precheck

Once you have done these two easy steps, your background will be checked and then you will receive a Known Flyer Number, this is your pass to freedom. Gone are the days of taking your shoes off, belts off and laptops out. Again, the fee is only $85 and lasts for 5v whole years. So even if you only fly once a year, the $85 will be well worth it. You aren’t only helping yourself out; you are helping out every other passenger and TSA employee.